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Submitted: 6/4/18 • Approved: 10/14/19 • Last Updated: 6/30/23 • R1225879-G1225879-S3
Emmette
January 28, 1924 - August 31, 2008
Betty
August 7, 1928 - May 14, 2009
Married: August 20, 1948
Beloved Parents of Gaye Anne, Richard Emmette, Lark Leigh and Dana Beth
*Obituary
Emmette Fletcher Gathright, 1st Lieutenant, US Army Retired, 84, of El Dorado, Arkansas, passed away on Sunday evening, August 31, 2008.
He was born in Strong, Arkansas and was a resident of El Dorado for over forty years. He was a graduate of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville and its School of Law where he was also a member and active alumni of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity.
His education was interrupted by World War II during which he joined the United States Army from the R.O.T.C Reserve Corps at the University of Arkansas, first serving with the 7th Infantry Division at the Battle of Attu in the Aleutian Islands and, after receiving his commission from Officer's Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia, with the 1st Infantry (The Big Red One) Division in the Rhineland and Central European Campaigns in France, Belgium and Germany. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for "extraordinary heroism and valor above and beyond the call of duty." He received the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster for wounds suffered in action and also held three Bronze Stars.
After completing his education he served in the Arkansas Legislature representing Union County before beginning his career as an oil and gas attorney and as an independent oil and gas producer which led him from El Dorado to Mobile, Alabama, and subsequently to Salt Lake City, Utah before returning to El Dorado. He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of El Dorado.
He is survived by Betty Colquette Gathright, his wife of 60 years, and by his children, Gaye G. Clark and husband, Kevin, of Bountiful, Utah; Richard E. Gathright, Sr. and wife, Louise, of Pompano Beach, Florida; Lark G. Swartz and husband, Jim, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Dana G. McDonald of New Orleans, Louisiana. He is also survived by his grandchildren, Justin Clark, Richard Gathright, Jr., Lindsey Gathright, Trey Elliott, Ashley Waldron, Hope McDonald and Eric McDonald; and his great-grandchildren, Emma Kate Elliott, Preston Elliott and Samantha Truleigh Furness. He is also survived by his brother, Joe L. Gathright, and wife, Kathy, of Austin Texas and brother-in-law, Richard Lee Colquette, of Shreveport, Louisiana. His father and mother, Emmette Fletcher and Altee Lewis Gathright, of Strong and El Dorado, predeceased him.
A funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, September 6, 2008 at Arlington Cemetery in El Dorado and will be presided over by The Reverend Pam Brulé of The First United Methodist Church with internment under the direction of Young's Funeral Directors. A reception will be held immediately following the service at the El Dorado Golf and Country Club.
Contributed on 6/4/18 by debbraszymanski
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Record #: 1225879